Texas Poverty In Texas

Poverty in Texas

Poverty rates have increased more in recent years due to the economic recession. In fact, it has been within the United States for innumerable years with Texas being among the states with the highest poverty rates in the country. But what causes poverty? What are the factors that contribute to Texas’ financial stance in comparison to other States? The main causes of poverty in Texas are unemployment, unevenly distributed poverty rates, and cuts regarding government programs.

The population affected by poverty in the state of Texas has increased within the last 5 years. In fact, according to the 2007 census addressed on poverty, approximately 3.934 million people in Texas are living in poverty. This number, however, has increased

An important factor that is often overlooked, is the broad border Texas shares with Mexico. Many people with low income are living in areas with poor living conditions, called colonias, near the border. Colonias, or colonies, consist of poorly constructed houses made for people who make 10,000 a year or less. However, these areas lack electricity and water supply; many of the families living have to find their own water throughout the day. The main concern for the people living in these areas are the living conditions: they have limited water supply.. Meaning they are limited to bathing, cooking and drinking water. If we consider the colonias along the Texas and Mexico border, we realize that the population is almost entirely composed of Hispanics living under poor conditions, thus increasing the poverty rate on Hispanics, furthermore increasing the aggregate poverty rates in

The money was cut from programs that assisted the poor, such as: Children’s Health Insurance Program and food stamps. I believe the lack of assistance programs, such as the aforementioned programs; have effectively increased poverty percentage nationwide. These programs benefit many families in poverty as providing food at low cost and insurance for the children. Other programs similar to those that provided housing for families in poverty, were also cut drastically, thus increasing the difficulty for individuals seeking to qualify for said programs. What, then, can be done differently to reduce the amount of poverty in Texas?
 Revenue should be increased through tourism and re-distribute its income towards industries. Texas has always been a state of tourism; many tourists come to see the river walk, the Alamo, as well as the other major cities in this State. Along with tourists, Texas has the capabilities and natural resources to attract businesses to this state. It is important to attract development and jobs to Texas, as it will benefit the state economically, while also provide more jobs and open doors to those people struggling in poverty. Increasing the industrialization of Texas may be the beginning to effectively decrease the poverty